That being said, nostalgia can be a powerful force, and maybe you miss the “old way” of watching TV. On-demand entertainment is awesome, but there’s a strange appeal in being able to “surf channels” to see what’s “currently playing”.

If you feel like that describes you, then here’s the good news: there’s a new Chrome extension called OttoPlay that brings back the whole activity of channel surfing, and in addition to working with Netflix, it also supports Hulu and YouTube.

Once installed, the extension lets you pick from a particular theme (e.g. drama, comedy, girls, science fiction, anime, etc.) and will load up a “schedule” of shows to watch. It’s really simple and highly reminiscent of cable TV.

Those outside of the U.S. may experience regional playback issues due to content unavailability. It’s a bit inconvenient, but should work fine otherwise.

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SteveJ

December 13, 2016 at 7:35 am

I finally got sick of being gauged by cable and cut the cord, and you know what, I really don't miss it. I already had Subscribed to Netflix, MLB.tv and Amazon Prime looking for content I actually wanted, on demand, so I was doing more streaming than channel surfing anyway, and I added on Hulu and HBO Now, and the whole thing brought my TV charges down about $60 a month. Is it worth it to lose the Home Shopping Network, FOX and the rest of the drivel I never watched anyway. I think so.

i still have dish. My wife is disabled and stays at home. I would want all the different streaming services on one guide. No idea how that would work. I will wait until this cord cutting is more user friendly.

For on demand, streaming is way better, but for user friendliness across multiple services, you're right... there's still a lot of progress to be made. :( Hopefully it catches up sooner rather than later!